Music-leaf turner.



-s. HAUSLBR. MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 9, 1909.

1,026,950, I Patented May 21, 1912.

'4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

s. HAUSLER.

MUSIC LEA-F TURNER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 9, 1909.

1,026,950. Patented May 21, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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.MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 9, 1909.

1,026,950. Patented May 21, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAFH co.. WASHINGTON. D. s

S. HAUSLER.v

MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 9, 1909.

Patented May 21, 1912.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

AttOYLQL/J 61mm may SIMON HAUSLER, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

MUSIC-LEAF TURNER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1912.

Application filed January 9, 1909. Serial No. 471,531.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SIMON HAUSLER, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented a new and useful Music-Leaf Turner, of which the following is a specification in such full and clear terms as will enable those skilled in the art to construct and use the same.

This invention relates to a device used for the purpose of turning the leaves of sheets of music when the same is being read by a player.

It is to be noted that to prevent stops in the middle of a piece of music it is necessary to provide some means to mechanically turn the leaves of the sheets of music without compelling the player to remove the hands from the keys, or strings of the instrument, or at least to remove one hand only and only for an instant.

A further object of this invention is to produce a device which will hold ready for turning all the sheets of music liable to be used by any player, and at the same time to permit any, or a number of sheets to be returned and played over again.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for operating the leaf turner with the foot or the knee as may be wished, in which case there need be no stop at all in playing a piece of music.

Another object of the invention is to provide an efficient means for holding the sheets of music ready for use in this music leaf turner, the holder being adapted to fit the turner in such a manner as to hold each sheet in reach of the leaf holding fingers, means being provided to hold sheets of sev eral different lengths.

In the drawings, in which the same numeral of reference is applied to the same portion throughout, Figure 1 is a front ele vation of the leaf turner, the leaf holding fingers being shown in dotted lines on one side of the turning head, and in full lines on the return side, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the turner, a clamp for holding the turner in place on a piano or other instrument being shown in dotted lines, Fig. 3 is a plan view of the finger turning head, a number of the fingers being broken off to save space, Fig. 4 is an end elevation of one of the leaf holding fingers, Fig. 5 is a. perspective view of a portion of the turning head, showing the mechanism for operating the release of the leaves when they are ready to be turned, Fig. 6 is a'front view on a larger scale than Fig. 1 of the leaf turning head, the leaf holding rods being cut off, Fig. 7 is a plan view of one of the leaf turning plates, Fig. 8 is a sectional view of said leaf turning plate, on the line 88 of Fig. 7 Fig. 9 is a plan view of a modified form of book holding device adapted to dispense with the long plate shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the modified form of book holder, Fig. 11 is a sectional view of a form of music holder for use with small books of music containing from three to a dozen sheets of paper, Fig. 12 is a front elevation of this form of sheet holder, Fig. 13 is a view of a piano equipped with this leaf turner, the means for operating the same being operated either by the foot of the player, or by the knee, Fig. 14 shows the operating lever projecting through the case of the piano and the foot lever, Fig. 15 shows the operating lever and the knee lever in plan, and Fig. 16 shows the position of the leaf holding rods used with the plate shown in Fig. 10.

The numeral 1 is applied to the baseplate of the turner head, a second plate 2 being placed above the same at such a distance as will permit the working of the turner release mechanism. A third plate 3 is placed above the first two plates and is secured thereto at such a distance therefrom as will equal the total thickness of all the plates 8, which latter carry the fingers .15. The top plate is secured to the others by means of the posts 4, 5, 6, 7, which are riveted to said plates. At the center of the top plate there is a hole through which projects the post 9 which acts as a pivot for the plates 8, said post, or pin passing through the plate 2 and resting on the plate 1, and being split as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

The finger plates 8 are of the form shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the tops having a countersunk portion in which is placed the spring 10, said spring having one end secured to the plate and the otherend secured in the split post. Near the outer edge of the plates 8 there are rectangular openings, one for each plate, and in which the springs 13 operate, said springs passing into a hole in the plate 8 at each end of the rectangular opening.

This spring locks the leaf holding arm in its ready position by pushing the pin 14 out so that it will catch on the post 4. The post 4 is square and its front face forms the abutment for all the catch pins 14. The leaf turning fingers are all bent so that they will lie in a vertical plane at the post 4, but will be oifset the thickness of the paper holding clips at the ends, as shown in Fig. 3. The object of having the leaf turning fingers 15 offset, is to permit the leaf holding snaps to operate without interfering with each other, note particularly Fig. 3. The leaf turning fingers are adapted to move from the posi tion of rest at the left of Fig. 1 called the normal position through an angle of sub stantially 180 to a position called ready position; the movement from the ready to the normal position being accomplished by the springs 10 upon the release of the pins 14 by the catch 31.

The leaf holding snaps 18 operate against a depending limb 16 of the arms, or fingers, 15, a notch in the snap acting as a bearing for the same, the snap being held in place against the finger 15 by means of a loop 19 on the spring 20. The plates 1 and 2 are spaced apart by means of washers for the purpose of providing a working place for the releasing lever 22, said lever being pivoted 0n the post 5 below the plate 2 and being held in its normal position by means of the spring 24, said spring bearing 011 the arm 25 which acts 011 the releasing bail 26. The releasing bail is carried by the levers 27, on the post 29 to which the lever arm 25 is attached, said arm 25 being below the plate 2. A chain 30 operates the releasing lever and may be secured to any suitable operating device as will be later explained. The releasing trigger 31 is rigidly secured on a sliding post 32, and is raised by means of a small weight 33, said weight being secured to a cord 34 which passes over the small pulley 35 secured on the under side of the plate 1. This releasing trigger has a notch, see Fig. 3, in which the bail 26 takes, and it is provided with a spring 36 which holds it in contact with the bail when the same has been inserted in the notch, said spring bearing on the post 4, and moving up and down with the releasing trigger. The trigger has a projecting point which passes over the post 4 and pushes the pins 14, which form the catch for the finger holding plates, out of contact with said post thus allowing the leaf holding fingers to fly around into the normal position, and when a leaf has been inserted in the finger snap 18 the spring will carry the leaf along. Since the weight pulls upwardly on the post 32 it always causes the releasing trigger to be held in contact with the arm which has just been allowed to return to the initial position, the arms passing on the point of the trigger and forcing the same one space lower each time an arm or finger 15 is released. It will also be noted that should any number of leaves be turned back for replaying that the trigger will at once be pulled up so that it will operate on the top finger in the position ready for turning.

The plates 1, 2 and 3 have the depending members 1, 2 and 3 see Fig. 2 at the rear thereof, said depending members forming the means whereby the long plate 37 is secured to the turning head. This long plate 37 is twisted a short distance below the place at which it is secured to the turning head plates so that it presents the edge view shown in Fig. 2, and it is provided with the leaf holding spring foot 38, the same being pivoted to the plate 37 at 39, a spring 40 holding the foot against the book or leaves supported on the plate 41. This latter plate is slotted so that it will slide on the long plate 37, the spring 42 snapping into notches in the long plate whereby the music holding plate 41 may be adjusted to several positions. The plate 41 has a large hole just in front of the hole through which the plate 37 passes, the object of which is to permit the leaf holding rod 44 to pass through to the support 45. This support is pivoted to the plate 37 by means of the screw 46, and it is provided with a small barrel 47 in which is placed the spring 48, said spring acting on a plug 49 on which the leaf holding rod rests. The obj ect of this is to provide means for inserting the leaf holding rod in place, there being a hole in the bottom plate 1 through which the upper end of the rod passes. The leaf holding rod is provided with the curved plate 50 at the bottom thereof, the object of said plate being to hold the leaf, or music sheets closely to the rod 44. Also secured to the bottom of the plate 37 is the lever holding plate 51, this plate forming the means for securing the lever 52 in place, said lever operating the lever 53 which in turn is connected to the long rod 54 connected at its upper end to the bell crank 55, the short end of the latter being connected to the chain which operates the lever 22.

As shown the leaf turner is ready for operation with a touch of the finger on the lever 52, but since it is desirable to operate the turner without removing the hands from the piano, connections may be made, if de sired to levers below the key board, whereby the turner may be operated either by the knee, or by the foot. In this construction the lever 22 is extended out far enough from the head of the leaf turner to pass through the front board of the piano, or other iiistrument, as shown in Figs. 14 and 15. When so connected a foot lever 54 may be used to operate the leaf turner, the foot lever pulling down on the cord 55, said cord passing over a pulley 56 and to the lever 22.

Since the foot is also used for the purpose of assisting the playing of the hands it may be advisable to also equip the piano with means for operating the leaf turning mechanism by the knee, in which case the lever 57 is also used. This lever is carried by the lower end of the rod 58, see Fig. 13, a lever 59 being secured to the upper end of the said rod, and connected by means of the rod, or cord, 60 to the lever 22. This makes it possible to operate the leaf turner either by the hand, the foot, or by the knee at the will of the player.

It may be desirable to use other forms of leaf holding devices instead of the one shown in Fig. 1, as for example the plate 65 may be used instead of the plate 1. This plate has the same set of openings for the operating means as the plate 1, but instead of using the long plate 37, a pair of depending rods 66 are secured to the bottom of the plate, a third rod 67 being slidable in the slot 69 and pivoted to the plate at 70. This rod is bent around to form a handle and also means for attaching the spring 68 thereto, this spring operating against the posts passing through said plate 65 to hold the rod 67 tightly in contact with the two rods 66. Another modification of the leaf holding device may be used if desired. It is shown in Figs. 11 and 12, and comprises a long tube 72 having the lips 73. WVithin this tube is the half tube 74, and which extends entirely around the inside of the outer tube at the bottom thereof. Within the inner tube is a spring 7 5 which is secured to the outer tube at the bottom and to the inner tube at the top. A

sleeve 76 is secured around the outer tube 72, said sleeve having a handle 77 and a projecting tail piece 78 which latter is passed through a hole in the lower portion of the inner tube, to form means whereby the inner tube may be turned to open the lips 73 and 79, a slot 80 being provided in the outer tube to allow the necessary circular motion of the inner tube. The device is taken in the hand, and with the left hand holding the outer tube, the right may beused to push the handle 77 around far enough to insert the sheets of music in the holding device, the sheets being firmly held as soon as the pressure on the handle is released. This special holder may be used in the place of the rod, or the cylinder 47 see Fig. 2 may be removed from the clamp and the tube inserted permanently in place, the top passing into a hole in the bottom plate 1.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. In a music leaf turner, a frame, a series of plates carried by the frame, a spring carried within each plate to hold the said plate in a given position, a catch for each plate to hold said plate in a position substantially 180 degrees different from the first mentioned position, leaf holding fingers carried by each plate, and a vertically slidable trigger mounted in said frame for releasing the plates and fingers successively, said trigger having a portion cooperating with the released finger to set the trigger into position to release the succeeding finger.

2. In a music leaf turner, a frame,'a series of plates carried by the frame, a leaf holding finger carried by each plate, a catch carried by each plate and adapted to hold each plate in a position ready for a movement of substantially 180 degrees, a holding post, a slidable trigger adapted to release the catches from the post one at a time, means to move the plates through an angle of substantially 180 degrees, and means to hold a series of sheets of music in proximity to the turning device, as set forth.

3. In a music leaf turner, a frame, a series of plates carried thereby, a leaf holding finger carried by each plate, a spiral spring and a latch carried by each plate, means to hold the plates in a position ready for a movement of substantially 180 degrees, a vertically slidable trigger to release the latches successively, means whereby said slidable trigger will be moved to operate said latches successively, and means to operate said trigger to release said latches, as set forth.

1. In a music leaf turner, a frame, a series of plates carried thereby, a finger secured to each plate and movable therewith through an angle of substantially 180 degrees, a latch carried by each plate, a spring to turn said plates and fingers through said angle, a holding post with which said latches contact, a vertically slidable trigger to move and release said latches successively, said trigger being so formed that each finger will suecessively move the same so that it will remove the neXt latch, and a music holding shelf secured to said frame, as set forth.

5. In a music leaf turner, the combination of a frame, a series of plates carried thereby, a leaf holding finger carried by each of said plates and movable therewith through an angle of substantially 180 degrees, a latch carried by each plate, a holding post, a slidable trigger to release said latches succes sively, said trigger being so formed that it will contact with each successive finger in such a manner that the trigger is set to operate the next latch, a rod connected with the frame, a music holding shelf secured to said rod, and means to hold sheets of music against said rod, as set forth.

6. In a music leaf turner, the combination of a frame, a series of plates mounted to rotate through an arc of substantially 180 degrees and each having a leaf holding finger, a spring latch carried by each plate, a

trigger, means to cause the trigger to be this 10th day of December A. D. 1908, in presented to the finger plate latches suethe presence of the two subscribed Witnesses.

eessively, and means whereby said trigger L will be returned to be operated by any finger, SIMON HAUSLER' 5 should said finger be returned to the position Vitnesses:

for playing from the sheet held thereby. W. T. HEss,

In testimony whereof I have set my hand C. P. GRIFFIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

